Judge rules in favor of author Fern Michaels in defamation lawsuit

Fern Michaels

Published: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 at 10:15 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 9:42 a.m.

A Spartanburg judge has ruled in favor of best-selling author Fern Michaels in a defamation suit.

Michaels filed the lawsuit against former Spartanburg County resident, Shelley Dangerfield, along with Dangerfield's mother and brother, Wanda and Craig Dilley. A bench trial was held here last January, the ruling was made in late May.

Craig Dilley of North Charleston has been ordered to pay $75,000 to Michaels for damages she suffered after he forwarded a defamatory email to a website.

In the email, Dangerfield wrote: "If I wind up dead, please know that Mary Kuczkir, the author Fern Michaels, more (than) likely arranged for it to happen. Please don't respond. I want a black/white record. Shelley Dangerfield."

Dangerfield was then married to her second husband, but had started a relationship with Carlos Ramos, Michaels' former son-in-law. Dangerfield's mother and brother testified they were angry about the relationship and not speaking to Dangerfield at the time she sent the email.

Dangerfield sent the email to Wanda Dilley of Pierre, S.D., who forwarded it to Craig Dilley.

Attorneys for Michaels, who filed the lawsuit under her legal name, Mary Kuczkir, argued that the writer of almost 100 bestsellers was not a public figure. Michaels claimed she was unable to write for six months and lost $850,000 in income due to her distress.

Seventh Judicial Circuit Judge Roger Couch ruled "there was no apparent adverse effect on her earning capacity," nor was there evidence her book sales suffered or she was denied publishing privileges due to the email.

The email was ruled defamatory in part because the defendants did not prove Michaels was scheming to murder Dangerfield.

According to court documents, Dangerfield feared for her life after she and Ramos' vehicles were vandalized, someone photographed the couple outside a restaurant, Michaels frequently drove by Ramos' home – the author and Ramos were involved in a visitation dispute over Michaels' grandson at the time – and receiving a phone call from her ex-husband in which she was told law enforcement officers visited their home after finding her vehicle abandoned in a remote area of Charleston. The vehicle was later found parked in the shopping center where it was left prior to a trip.

Craig forwarded the email from an account set up under a different name to a website that promoted Michaels and other romance writers. The email was automatically forwarded to more than a dozen people who moderated the site and comments about the email were posted on the sites' list serve, according to a court document.

The email account was closed within hours of Craig receiving a response from the woman who maintained the site.

While the court found evidence that Craig Dilley "acted in reckless disregard for the truth" and intended to harm Michaels' reputation, the emails from Dangerfield and her mother were ruled privileged and they were not sued for the content of the emails.

Efforts to contact one of Michaels' attorneys and the defendants' attorney were not immediately successful.

<p>A Spartanburg judge has ruled in favor of best-selling author Fern Michaels in a defamation suit.</p><p>Michaels filed the lawsuit against former Spartanburg County resident, Shelley Dangerfield, along with Dangerfield's mother and brother, Wanda and Craig Dilley. A bench trial was held here last January, the ruling was made in late May.</p><p>Craig Dilley of North Charleston has been ordered to pay $75,000 to Michaels for damages she suffered after he forwarded a defamatory email to a website.</p><p>In the email, Dangerfield wrote: "If I wind up dead, please know that Mary Kuczkir, the author Fern Michaels, more (than) likely arranged for it to happen. Please don't respond. I want a black/white record. Shelley Dangerfield."</p><p>Dangerfield was then married to her second husband, but had started a relationship with Carlos Ramos, Michaels' former son-in-law. Dangerfield's mother and brother testified they were angry about the relationship and not speaking to Dangerfield at the time she sent the email.</p><p>Dangerfield sent the email to Wanda Dilley of Pierre, S.D., who forwarded it to Craig Dilley.</p><p>Attorneys for Michaels, who filed the lawsuit under her legal name, Mary Kuczkir, argued that the writer of almost 100 bestsellers was not a public figure. Michaels claimed she was unable to write for six months and lost $850,000 in income due to her distress.</p><p>Seventh Judicial Circuit Judge Roger Couch ruled "there was no apparent adverse effect on her earning capacity," nor was there evidence her book sales suffered or she was denied publishing privileges due to the email.</p><p>The email was ruled defamatory in part because the defendants did not prove Michaels was scheming to murder Dangerfield.</p><p>According to court documents, Dangerfield feared for her life after she and Ramos' vehicles were vandalized, someone photographed the couple outside a restaurant, Michaels frequently drove by Ramos' home – the author and Ramos were involved in a visitation dispute over Michaels' grandson at the time – and receiving a phone call from her ex-husband in which she was told law enforcement officers visited their home after finding her vehicle abandoned in a remote area of Charleston. The vehicle was later found parked in the shopping center where it was left prior to a trip.</p><p>Craig forwarded the email from an account set up under a different name to a website that promoted Michaels and other romance writers. The email was automatically forwarded to more than a dozen people who moderated the site and comments about the email were posted on the sites' list serve, according to a court document.</p><p>The email account was closed within hours of Craig receiving a response from the woman who maintained the site.</p><p>While the court found evidence that Craig Dilley "acted in reckless disregard for the truth" and intended to harm Michaels' reputation, the emails from Dangerfield and her mother were ruled privileged and they were not sued for the content of the emails.</p><p>Efforts to contact one of Michaels' attorneys and the defendants' attorney were not immediately successful.</p>